Steps to Take
by Caeli Oneiroi
Summary: One cannot simply expect four girls to save a dying era when their leader is a mentally unstable schizophrenic and her Second-in-Command has been exiled for treason. Especially when their home is in the heart of a civil uprising.
1. Garnet

**Steps to Take**

Chapter 1: Garnet

Only Serenity seemed to notice shift in the air, a brief flash that upset the peaceful scene. She automatically looked to her advisor, knowing that the guardian would have an answer.

Setsuna's eyes were closed, her brow furrowed as if in concentration, lips tugged down into a slight frown.

"_What am I doing here?"_ A faint whisper through the overwhelming noise of the crowd pierced through the time guardian's concentration. _"I don't like this place."_

By the soft upturn of Setsuna's frown, Queen Serenity deemed it safe enough to continue as if nothing had upset the balance of serenity that had resettled itself, albeit a bit forced.

She was startled when a firm hand rested itself on her shoulder and turned surprised grey eyes to those of timeless garnet. Serenity found herself sinking into their depths.

"Mars is here." The Queen.

"Please send a servant to collect her." Had they always been so entrancing?

Setsuna nodded, pivoted on her heeled boot, and in a flurry of emerald, was gone.

Serenity sank back into her throne, ignoring the strange looks she received from the others in the room. "And so it begins."

* * *

Rei had never been cold before; she'd never experienced this kind of cold on Mars. On her home planet, in the shelter of the temple, it had always been warm and a haven for her spirit.

The Moon was cold, lifeless, and reeked of bitterness.

She'd arrived a few hours earlier, scouting the town square market located just outside the castle gates. The Moon Palace was certainly a sight to behold, constructed of opaque crystals that gleamed blue and pink tones in the light of the Earth above. Unlike the harsh beauty of Mars, it was a cold, soothing kind of beauty.

A girl, dressed in the white linen robes of a palace servant turned her way. _So my time for exploring is over._

Violet eyes took note of how people hurried out of the way of the palace servant or purposely stopped her to mutter something rude or spit at her face. The girl kept her eyes down, her red hair obscuring her face.

As the servant girl approached, Rei collected her thoughts and once again prepared her mental barriers, each more carefully set than the next.

"Princess Mars," the girl's voice was soft, frail, "I've come by order of Lady Setsuna to guide you to Queen Serenity as one of her guardians. If you would follow me."

Rei grunted an affirmative and in a few easy strides had surpassed the servant, headed in the direction of the shining palace.

She ignored the girl's protests behind her.

_This place disgusts me._

* * *

When she arrived in the throne room, Queen Serenity was waiting for her. To her right, on a smaller throne of crystal, sat a girl who seemed to be a few years younger than Rei herself. The Princess. To the Queen's left, cloaked in shadows, was a tall garnet-eyed woman. Rei couldn't make out anything but the solemn red eyes observing her from the darkness behind the throne. She could barely make out the sounds of her relaxed, even breathing.

"Princess Mars," Queen Serenity rose from her throne and stepped daintily from the raised platform of the royal family, "It is a pleasure to finally have you here, it seems you are the first to arrive."

"Pleasure, Your Majesty," was the simple reply.

"We have much to discuss, Rei."

As they talked, not once did those garnet eyes lose focus on her.


	2. Terran

**Steps to Take**

Chapter 2: Terran

Minako watched from the small window of the Kinsean Royal Ship as the swirling planet of love slowly faded from sight. She wouldn't miss the damned planet at all. The people there were so _weird._

"Minako, I'm coming in," at the sound of her voice, Minako scrambled to her feet, bowing clumsily as the Princess of Kinsei entered. The Kinsean dialect still confused her sometimes with its strange lilting and music like air. There were times when she was able to perfectly mimic the smooth tones but those were often short lived and she'd fall back into her rough and savage-like Terran accent.

"Princess," she felt herself adapt to the Kinsean tongue and a soft gold presence wrap around her. The Princess was, as usual, using her powers to sense her emotions.

The older girl's brow furrowed and her eyes darkened in anger ever so slightly, "Why won't you miss Venus, Minako? Do we really treat you so harshly?"

Minako wanted to flee but there was nowhere to run to, they were in the middle of space on a goddamn spaceship. She cast a fleeting glance out the window, watching as the abandoned castle flashed by.

Finally, after a few terse moments of silence, her shoulders slumped and she lowered her head, "No, Princess. Kinsei was my home."

The blow was sharp and caused her to stumble backwards.

"G-gomen, Princess, I meant to say Venus—Venus was my home." Green eyes glared down at her in disdain. Cherry lips curled in disgust.

"I don't understand why Mother even let you live, you're absolutely worthless." Minako resisted the urge not to cry out of sheer hopelessness. She would never be free.

As a child, Minako had been born and raised on Earth, and had had a peaceful existence until the age of ten, when a group of Kinsean invaders tore down her village in a furry of golden fires. The leader of the invaders had taken all the women back with him to Kinsei to be his slaves and satisfy the beastly wants of his men.

Minako had been too young at the time and even the savage invaders had some sense of decency, so she was offered as a token to the Queen. The Queen, a distasteful woman with more lovers than her hands feet and toes could count, decided that the pitiful girl would serve no more purpose than to serve her daughter.

The young Terran was a good servant, obedient to her master and working her hardest to please every whim of the spoiled princess. She worked dutifully to learn the confusing language of the Kinseans without much luck as no one cared enough to get her a tutor and simply expected her to know. Eventually she was able to understand basic commands and had learned the Princess' body language enough to understand what to do and when.

Luckily she was skilled in Common tongue so when her Kinsean failed, the Princess could switch to Common. The princess was not, however, so kind.

"My apologies, I am trying to learn, Princess Kaede." Kaede scoffed.

"We'll be at the Moon in two days time, you are no use to me until then. That's all I came to say."

"Yes, Your Highness."

She listened for the softening echo of Kaede's silver heels, waiting until they were out of earshot before sinking against the steel interior wall of the ship.

* * *

"Rei, the princess of Venus is here, we're supposed to greet her."

No response.

Princess Serenity VII sighed. "I'll tell her you're busy."

Violet eyes opened slowly, a small frown forming on her lips. Serenity was annoying, constantly trying to make friends with her.

She exhaled slowly and the flames encircling her began to die down until the room was plunged entirely into darkness. With a snap of her fingers, the firelight lanterns she'd specifically had placed in her room came to life, casting dancing lights along the walls.

She pushed her damp bangs out of her face and proceeded to stand. Rei wobbled slightly, her legs weak from long hours of intense meditation before the flames.

The soft flutter of wings drew her attention to the window. Perched there on her balcony, watching her through sorrowful black eyes, were two ravens of unusual size. They watched each other, scanning one another with utmost scrutiny. Rei jumped when they suddenly cawed and dived off the balcony.

The Moon, Rei decided, was the strangest and coldest place she'd ever encountered. Her naturally warm body had no problem enduring the cold of the artificial cooling but at night, when Mars got particularly warm and her body cooled, she felt very close to getting hypothermia.

She stood before her bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection and the bags under her eyes. She looked like death. Carefully, she traced her finger down her cheek, along her jawline, and just above her throat, following over the jagged white flesh that stood out against her already too pale skin. It was barely noticeable from a distance but up close, it was almost as visible as the rapturing color of her eyes.

_Mother._

* * *

Minako trailed silently behind Kaede as the Kinseans filed out of the royal ship, carrying as much of her master's belongings as she could manage. The other servants carried the rest, dispersed lightly among them. They were unhappy enough to have to carry anything seeing as she was the Princess' personal attendant and a Terran, ultimately putting her below them.

The Moon Palace shone brightly in the distance, surrounded by a clear crystal lake, the ivory gates glowing in full radiance. The lavish beauty on Venus was in stark contrast to the gleaming beauty of the Moon.

A short blonde with odango pigtails approached them. Garbed in a flowing silver gown with pink hues, Minako assumed she was the Moon Princess.

"Kaede!" A loud shriek and the odango was flying toward Kaede at speeds that would more or less result in injury for both princesses. Minako winced as she bowled into the taller girl and was surprised when Kaede caught her instead of falling to the ground as she expected.

"Serenity, it's been a while!" Was that a real smile? She'd never seen such a bright and happy smile on the Princess' face before.

"C'mon! Mother wants to see you, it's been too long!" Serenity was irritatingly hyper.

"Wait," Kaede's smile lessened somewhat, "I thought Mars was supposed to be here."

"Oh…Rei was…busy." As the name Rei left Serenity's lips, Minako noticed Kaede's eyes narrow ever so slightly.

In a moment the look was gone, replaced by feigned sadness. "How dare Mars forget her dearest childhood friend, how 'bout we grab her after I say hello to Queen Serenity?" The hardened look was back in her eyes, covered by her mask of devious plans.

Turning to Minako, Kaede ordered them to take her things to her quarters and that she would be back in a few short hours. The entourage nodded a collective affirmation. This seemed to satisfy her and she hurried briskly after the coltish Serenity VII.

_I've never been the Moon before but why do I feel like I've lived here for lifetimes?_

* * *

This is my first story I've ever tried writing so if you could please bear with me I would appreciate it. Reviews are helpful.


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